Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's views on the interpretation of the Constitution (DBQ)

The general consensus among historians is that there was a difference of opinions between Thomas Jefferson and James Madison on the policies of the interpretation of the Constitution. It is generally believed that Thomas Jefferson felt that there should be strict and inflexible interpretation of the Constitution, while James Madison felt that the Constitution was elastic and that many different laws could be derived form a single clause. Their views, however, seemed to have switched over the period of 1801-1817 to fit the needs of the time, and so those beliefs were not really set in stone.

In the year 1800, Thomas Jefferson viewed the Constitution as a document that should be interpreted very strictly. He felt that the country could not be united if the Federalists were making so many interpretations of the words of the Constitution (Doc. A). He believed that the Constitution was made the way it was purposely because the Framers knew that that was how the country could best use it. An example of how he was a strict constructionist was in 1808 (in the middle of his presidency), when he created the phrase "separation between church and state." He felt that the Constitution does not provide the National Government with the right to impose religious laws upon the citizens (it can only make civil laws), and therefore those types of decisions are for the people to make for themselves (Doc. B).

Towards the end of Jefferson's presidency was when the Federalists really lost their power and when the Democratic-Republicans increased theirs. With the loss of power of his party, James Madison changed his opinion of flexible interpretation to strict, while Jefferson did the opposite. They switched opinions because each believed that, with the changing times, their new views would be more effective in governing. In 1814, a Federalist expressed this change when he felt that the broad use of phrases in the Constitution could become dangerous because the stretching of a...

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History and Information
9/5/2013
Johnesha Glenn
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ThomasJefferson was an American Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the United States. He was a spokesman for democracy and the rights of man with worldwide influence. ThomasJefferson was born on April 13, 1743, Shadwell, VA. He died on July 4, 1826, Charlottesville, VA. ThomasJefferson graduated from The College of William and Mary (1760–1762). He served his Presidential term in March 4, 1801 – March 4, 1809 He married his spouse Martha Jefferson (m. 1772–1782). Later, they had children: Martha Jefferson Randolph, Mary Jefferson Eppes, Lucy Elizabeth Jefferson, and Jane Jefferson.
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